Reply to APS/SA boundary redrawing

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]But they also pull out the VPI kids. Every single option school has two VPI classes who are guaranteed spots for K. If you compare the resident vs. actual fr/l numbers at the poorest schools, the kids choosing to attend schools outside of their neighborhoods are helping to balance the poverty levels. The best thing would be to put the option schools in places that have no other way to balance, even better if it's to a school where there aren't that many walkers, as a result of geography/uncrossable roads. [/quote]

Sure but what is the Data on the number of those kids that stay on in K? I knew several that move back to their neighborhood school after VPI.

Yes it does help balance that out some but MORE upper income people are leaving disticts like Drew to go to Montessori and Immersion than there are VPI kids coming in.

But yes Claremont is a horrible location for a choice school because it IS in a walkable neighborhood and there really isn't another school close to the Columbia Forest and Claremont neighborhoods (Outside of Abingdon) Randolph is the next closest but it can't do busses. So kids are going to have to be bussed somewhere.[/quote]

It's 100% at ATS and pretty close to that at Campbell. Not sure about the numbers for Immersion, but it's probably similar, other wise the poverty level at Randolph would be into the 90s, rather than "just" 70%. Montessori has no VPI kids, so that's absolutely a problem, one that could be fixed by changing the fee structure (making it free for a percentage of very low-income families and charging slightly more at the upper end of the sliding scale). [/quote]

Most of those VPI kids at Campbell are already in the area; so it's like going to a neighborhood school.  [/quote]

But all the kids stay at ATS. Likely they do at Claremont and Key. Like everyone, once they're in a school the majority stay. [/quote]

Do you have the stats for this out of curiosity?[/quote]

They have the exact number of economically disadvantaged students as the VPI admission allows. As of last year, they had 18 ED students per grade level, K-5, plus two current VPI classes of 17 students each, totalling 142 ED students at the school. That's either a coincidence wherein the same number of VPI students leave and different ED students win a spot in the genes lottery, or I am right. I haven't done the math for the other option schools, because it's harder to tell with the others because admission policies have been in flux. But I think you are vastly over-stating the number of ED kids who leave the schools where they attend VPI. This is why APS has adopted the admission policy and why the options schools each have VPI classrooms as policy. [/quote]

18 ED per grade level but 2 VPI classes with 17 each wan almost half of them leave unless I’m reading that wrong? [/quote]

No, to clarify there are 142 students w/meal benefits at the school. That's two classrooms of 17 VPI (34), plus 18 each in K-5. Last year was the first year they had 2 VPI classes. Every other grade level had just one of 18 students each. That's (18x6)+34=142. [/quote]

Oh ok! Although that is still proves my other point about choice schools only attracting non-ED kids. It means no other ED kid applied to the school and just the VPI kids moved on. You didn’t say what school this is but I think you’re Claremont and it has a few ED neighborhoods surrounding it. Did none of those kids apply? [/quote]

Sorry to take so long to reply. The old way of applying (outside of VPI preference), was very cumbersome for anyone other than a privileged parent to accomplish. You had to go to an open house at your neighborhood school, plus one at the option school. That's four hours on two separate days, and you probably had to travel a certain distance to get to at least one of those schools. No big surprise there weren't more ED students in the general lottery. Whereas APS holds the VPI application night in one place, outside of traditional working hours, children are permitted to come, and it's usually held at a school located near where a majority of ED families live. And there are staff member to walk you though filling out the form, bilingual ones, too. For many years, this was the way. It was only through the VPI "back door" that an ED family had an equal shot at getting in. I think this process only changed for the Fall of 2017.

Not at Claremont, and that's all I will say. I don't know why their fr/l number isn't higher, but I suspect it is not because kids leave after pre-K. [/quote]

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